1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a swivel child car seat to be fixedly mounted on a seat of a vehicle or the like and having a seat body supported on a base so as to be turntable to face a child seated thereon toward either the front or the rear with respect to the direction of travel of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 13, a conventional swivel child car seat 1 has a seat body 2 and a base 3. The seat body 2 is supported on the base 3 by a swivel mechanism, not shown. The base 3 is fastened to a seat 4 of a vehicle by a seat belt 5 attached to the seat 4.
The seat body 2 of the swivel child car seat 1 can be turned about the turning axis 6 of the swivel mechanism to set the seat body 2 selectively in either a first position to face a child body toward the front as shown in FIG. 14(a) or a second position to face the child toward the rear as shown in FIG. 14(b) with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle.
To enable the seat body 2 to be turned without being interfered with by the base 3, the turning axis 6 of the swivel mechanism extends in a front end portion of the base 3.
When the backrest of a front seat 4b is tilted rearward with the seat body 2 of the child seat 1 fixedly mounted on a rear seat 4a facing rearward, the distance L between the backrest of the front seat 4b and the seat body 2 decreases as shown in FIG. 14(b) and it is possible that the rearward tilt of the backrest of the front seat 4b is limited by the seat body 2.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a swivel child car seat having a seat body that will not interfere with the backrest of a front seat when the backrest of the front seat is tilted rearwardly with the seat body facing rearwardly.
According to the present invention, a swivel child car seat comprises a base, a swivel pedestal mounted on the base for free turning, and a seat body mounted on the swivel pedestal, in which the swivel pedestal can slide along at least one straight line relative to the base.
The swivel child car seat of the present invention is characterized in that the base is provided with an elongate guide groove, and the swivel pedestal turns in and slides along the guide groove.
The swivel child car seat of the present invention is characterized in that the guide groove of the base has one end opening at one end of the base and the other end provided with a projection. The swivel pedestal is provided with a recess complementary to the projection, and the projection engages the recess of the swivel pedestal to restrain in the swivel pedestal from turning.
The swivel child car seat of the present invention is characterized in that the projection has a concave, circular end surface of a curvature substantially equal to that of the circumferential surface of the swivel pedestal.
The swivel child car seat of the present invention is characterized in that a holding block is inserted in one end of the guide groove so as to press the swivel pedestal against the other end of the guide groove.
The swivel child car seat of the present invention is characterized in that the holding block slides between a rear position where the holding block is in contact with the swivel pedestal set at a rear position where the projection of the guide groove engages the recess of the swivel pedestal, and a front position where the holding block is in contact with the swivel pedestal set at a front position where the projection of the guide groove is not in engagement with the recess of the swivel pedestal. The positioning means holds the holding block selectively at either the rear position or the front position.
The swivel child car seat of the present invention is characterized in that one end of the holding block that contacts the swivel pedestal has a concave, circular surface of a curvature substantially equal to that of the circumferential surface of the swivel pedestal.
The swivel child car seat of the present invention is characterized in that a locking means for fixedly holding the seat body on the base is interposed between the seat body and the base.
The swivel child car seat of the present invention is characterized in that the locking means restrains the seat body from turning and sliding relative to the base.
The swivel child car seat of the present invention is characterized in that the locking means comprises a latch disposed on a side of the base and provided with an opening, and a pin supported on the seat body and capable of being inserted in the opening of the latch.
The swivel child car seat of the present invention is characterized in that the locking means comprises a base-side element placed on a rear portion of the base, and a hook supported on the seat body that is capable of engaging the base-side element.
According to the present invention, the seat body of the child car seat can be moved forwardly or rearwardly by sliding the swivel pedestal along the guide groove.